[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Just my take #30861

R2,

The last time I was in west Texas I was supposed to be hunting hogs. I think I spent more time chasing jackrabbits. 😉

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Just my take #29544

Steve,

If I’d have known how expensive wood arrows were going to become I’d have bought a lot more. Back when I got these you could still get good quality shafts for a dollar each, and I only paid a fraction of that for these. Now they’re closer to four dollars each.

I stocked up back when I used to lose or break about a hundred of them every year chasing squirrels. I should probably set up a bow and go lose some more this fall. It’s been too long.

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Just my take #10387

Mike,

It’s not about need, it’s about want. Why would anyone need a fiberglass backed recurve when a longbow will work? Why does anyone need a longbow when a selfbow will work? See where I’m going? I have nothing against wood arrows, and the thousand-plus shafts in my basement can attest. But how boring would life be if everyone liked the same things?

As far as carbons are concerned, the last dozen hunting shafts I bought cost less than a dozen weight and spine matched POCs from the large traditional archery suppliers. I’ve been shooting carbons for about 25 years now and haven’t found them any more or less dangerous than any other type of shaft. Twenty-plus years ago when pultruded carbons were the norm, there were some safety issues. But that was a long time ago. Today’s cross weave carbon shafts are tough as nails, and when they break they don’t produce “shards.” They break clean, just like a wood or aluminum shaft.

In the end, it all comes down to personal preference.

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Apr/MayTBM editorial #53566

Excellent editorial! This blog post came across my Facebook news feed this morning. It makes a lot of the same points. Personally, I’m glad I was raised by parents who let me learn from failure and didn’t hover over me every waking moment.

The ‘Let Them Bleed’ Style Of Parenting

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Open stance or conventional ? #40769

Steve Graf wrote: The only part of that story that doesn’t ring true is the part where Kevin decided to stick with recurves 😯 🙄

Once a fella gets between those long lean limbs of a longbow, how can he ever settle for less 😀

If I recall correctly, he was shooting and 80-something-pound Matlock at the time. The recurve he shoots now is around 67#. It hurts my shoulders just looking at it. 😯

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Open stance or conventional ? #40747

dwcphoto wrote: J, perhaps you can answer this one. It seems in your story that recurves are inherently more accurate and have their own category. Is that true and why? Some pretty famous archers shot longbows, even when recurves were available. Can you explain? Thanks very much, dwc

Steve, looks like those rocks eroded from the inside a bit, eh? 🙄

Man, that’s a can of worms right there. 😉

I suppose in the macro sense we could look at tournament results where there are separate classes (and archers shoot from the same distances) to figure out which group scores higher. Then we could dissect bows design elements of each bow type and evaluate which should be more forgiving, but none of that is guaranteed to translate at the individual level. Sometimes a person just performs better with one particular design over another. I suppose that’s why folks like Hill and Ferguson are known for using longbows while another equally talented trick shooter, Stacy Groscup, preferred recurves.

I think we run into problems when we cherry pick examples or quotes to support our particular preferences, whether bow design, broadhead type, shooting style or pretty much anything else in life. I think folks call that confirmation bias. We have to be careful to not develop tunnel vision. Some folks are going to shoot better with recurves. Others will prefer longbows. Half the fun is trying a bunch of different things to see which suits us best.

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Open stance or conventional ? #28831

I agree with Don about letting the right form find you. I have seen more folks get messed up horribly by trying to shoehorn themselves into someone else’s mold. There is a fine line between trying new things in the hopes of improvement and abandoning what works best for you because someone else says it’s wrong.

A very good friend of mine, Kevin, is one of the best instinctive shooters I’ve ever met. When I first heard of him about 15 years ago it was because he was the guy with the longbow kicking all of our tails in the recurve class at local 3D shoots. The first time I actually met and shot with him I was blown away. We shoot with two very different styles, his being very fluid, canted and leaning with me being more “classical” and rigid. I knew the physical and mental gymnastics I was going through to hit 10 rings, but he made it look so easy and effortless. I’m pretty sure he outshot me that day.

Several years went by and Kevin decided to jump into upper level competition. His first time at the IBO Worlds he made the top five cut in the recurve class—he had switched from longbows a few years prior. After that tournament he wanted to improve his accuracy, so he started changing his equipment and style to match what the top recurve barebow archers were doing (upright, classical form and conscious aiming).

For two years Kevin’s accuracy went to pot. The further away he got from his comfort zone to worse he shot. We got to talking one day and I told him what he’d already known. He needed to go back to what worked best for him, not someone else. He found a recurve that complimented his canted, fluid instinctive style of shooting and went back his roots, so to speak. Almost immediately, his accuracy jumped right back up to where it once was. Best yet, he’s a lot happier with his shooting now.

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Two arrow bow quiver #63682

Mountain Man wrote: [quote=J.Wesbrock]Such a shame ABS discontinued the Dual Stalker. It was a great little quiver for a very good price. I think I paid about $20 for mine.

Wanta sell it?

Lol

I just saw the price on the one in the above link. Ouch! I didn’t pay that much for either of my Great Northern quivers several years ago. After seeing that, I think I’ll keep mine. 😉

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Two arrow bow quiver #60829

Such a shame ABS discontinued the Dual Stalker. It was a great little quiver for a very good price. I think I paid about $20 for mine.

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Jerry Hill #60793

The submission guidelines can be found by going to the home page, and clicking Submit an Article in the Resources box on the left. From there click the link entitled Submission Guidelines. If anyone wants a an article considered for publication all they have to do it follow the guidelines, write it up and submit it. Magazines can’t publish what they don’t receive.

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Open stance or conventional ? #60383

Excellent point, Steve. Thanks for the correction.

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Open stance or conventional ? #54268

When archers/coaches talk about open stances, they’re generally referring to the feet and hips, not the shoulders as viewed from above. And by “open,” we’re usually talking about 20-40 degrees from in line with the target. It’s just enough to minimize swaying at full draw.

Some archers leave their hips open and rotate their torsos to get the shoulders in the proper line. I’ve tried that, and it felt incredibly uncomfortable to me. Others have their feet open and their hips in line with the target. This works best for me, and is a more standard type of stance.

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Open stance or conventional ? #52952

DK wrote: If my elbow is not in line with the arrow I will pluck the string. Anyone else have that problem?

DK

That problem is very common, more than a lot of people realize. Imagine the profile of an archer at full draw. The two points of their upper body furthest apart are their bow hand and string-side elbow. Think of those two points being opposite ends of a wire being pulled tight. What is in the middle? The string hand.

The reason you want your elbow in line with the arrow (which really means it’s in line with your bow hand) is that it creates a straight line of tension—the bow grip, string hand and elbow are in a line. You can shoot with a nice, relaxed string-side forearm and string hand without forcing it into your face. When the string leaves the fingers it pulls straight away and the string hand moves straight back. Everything is in a straight line, and the arrow should travel straight forward.

If your elbow isn’t brought around far enough you now have a bend in the middle of that imaginary wire between your string-side elbow and bow hand—that bend being your string hand. You’ve now created a situation where you have excess tension in your string-side forearm, biceps and string hand just to keep your string hand against your face. This can cause all kind of problems with getting off the string consistently and straight back, the most common being plucking.

There are two major line of tension an archer has at full draw. One travels from the back shoulder through the front shoulder and to the bow hand. The other travels from the string-side elbow through the string hand to the bow hand. Ideally those two lines of tension should be straight.

I like to think of it this way, and if my assessment is incorrect or incomplete I hope Arne (Moebow) will correct me. The line through the bow arm creates a solid, steady aim. The line through the string-side arm creates a relaxed hold and consistent release.

I apologize for the commentary attached regarding BT releases and the compound photos. These are the best images I could find on the web to show proper versus improper alignment. I see a lot of archers—particularly traditional archers—shooting like the fellow in the top left. His upper body is wide open and his elbow isn’t brought around far enough. This is very unstable, and I’ll guarantee this guy’s accuracy leaves a lot to be desired. The fellow all the way on the bottom has nice straight lines of tension and is very stable. Of all the archers in these photos, he has the best chance of having a steady aim and consistent release.

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: Temptations #37966

Thanks for the kind words. And Steve, congrats on passing on good values to your son.

[Jason Wesbrock]

in reply to: light pound bow dilemma #18977

I only suggested a lighter shaft because you’ll likely have to use a somewhat heavy tip to get them tuned right. My full length Beman ICS Bohunters with 125-grain tips run around 485 grains. That’s a normal weight shaft. To get those tuned right for 50# @ 32.5″ you’ll probably end up over 10gpp — not a bad thing if you’re used to a slow trajectory.

[Author]

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